MONTREAL – Geoff Molson has described his ownership of the Montreal Canadiens as a sacred public trust, but it’s surprising that the iconic franchise doesn’t trust the public with more information about the team.

The most recent example was the confusion over defenceman Andrei Markov’s status. It was expected that Markov, who had a second major reconstruction of his right knee, would return to action in one of three games in California.

He didn’t play in the first game in Anaheim and the rumours began flying when he didn’t accompany the team to San Jose for the next game.

The team could have ended the speculation with a statement that Markov was seeing a doctor in Los Angeles. But coach Jacques Martin defied credibility when he said he didn’t know where Markov was. This is a team that’s paying Markov $5.75 million a season and they don’t know where he is?

The mystery was cleared the next day, when general manager Pierre Gauthier made a rare public pronouncement, confirming the doctor’s appointment. He also said that Markov would have an arthroscopic procedure that will keep him out of action until January.

Teams believe there’s a reason for withholding information about injuries. They don’t want the opposition targeting a player in a vulnerable area. The NHL rules say a team must report when a player is injured, but teams can simply describe the injury as ”upper-body” or “lower-body. ”

This has become a comedy routine. Earlier this season, Michael Cammalleri was cut on the leg by a teammate’s skate. Fans watching on TV saw the blood as he was helped from the ice and the bandage over the wound was visible as he walked through the dressing room, but the cut remained a “lower-body” injury.

When defenceman Jaroslav Spacek returned to practice last week, the usually loquacious Czech replied to a question about his health by saying: “I’m not allowed to talk.”

As a private company, the Canadiens are allowed to keep secrets. The team’s financial health is a matter for Molson and his partners, although there is a case to be made for some disclosure when the team cries poor and runs to the city and Quebec City for a reduction in the property taxes on the Bell Centre.

Gauthier is within his right to refuse comment on trade rumours and there’s something unseemly about negotiating through the media.

But it’s ludicrous when every announcement of a signing includes the statement: “As per club policy, terms of the contract are not released,” when the terms are in the public domain within minutes of the announcement. There are too many times when fans are left with unanswered questions about their team.

A major date on the NHL calendar is the annual entry draft in June, when teams select players for the future. There was a time when Trevor Timmins, the team’s director of procurement and player development, would address the media after the draft and provide information on each player. In 2007, when the team dipped heavily into the pool of Minnesota high school talent, the Canadiens made the scout responsible for that area available.

Gauthier has abandoned that practice. He is the sole spokesperson at the draft and admits that he knows little about the prospects, prefacing each comment with “Our scouts tell us … .”

The GM also holds a predraft media session and a prime topic in June was the large number of defencemen in line for unrestricted free agency. No one expected Gauthier to shed any light on the subject, but there was surprise an hour later when the team sent out an email announcing Markov had signed a three-year deal worth $17.25 million.

The signing raised questions. Were three seasons too long for a 32-year-old with a history of injuries? What was the prognosis on his surgically repaired knee? Did the Canadiens explore other possibilities? The media was told that Gauthier was unavailable and would comment the following day after the draft.

At least he commented. He doesn’t make himself available for comment on most signings or player movements.

A recent request to interview Randy Ladouceur for a story about the team’s success on the penalty kill was denied because the team “doesn’t want the assistant coaches to talk.” Ladouceur does interviews with RDS between periods. And the prohibition doesn’t extend to canadiens.com or Habs TV. These extensions of the Canadiens’ marketing and public relations are the team’s attempt to control the message.

Sometimes, the veil of silence can be counterproductive. In 2010, head coach Guy Boucher and his staff moved en masse from the Canadiens’ farm club in Hamilton to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boucher was considered one of the bright, young coaches in the game and the Canadiens were criticized for letting him go, although there was little they could do to keep him.

Later that summer, the Lightning struck again, hiring Julien BriseBois, a young lawyer who was the Canadiens’ vice-president, player development. Tampa Bay made BriseBois available to the Montreal media, and the obvious spin on the story was that the Canadiens had lost another bright, young mind.

From the Canadiens’ perspective, the sad part of this tale is that the team had a chance to put a positive spin on BriseBois’s defection, but Gauthier’s micro-management and a lack of public relations savvy made that impossible.

Within hours of BriseBois’s departure, the team announced that he would be replaced by Larry Carriere. The hiring was announced in a brief statement and a call to the Canadiens’ office brought the reply that neither Gauthier nor Carriere would be available. A call to Carriere’s cellphone went unanswered and, months later, he apologized and said he was under orders not to talk to anyone.

If he had, the Canadiens might have had a positive story about a veteran NHL executive who had played in the NHL, replacing a callow youth. It would have been a good-news story about a Montreal guy coming home after helping to build successful teams in Buffalo and Washington.

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